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People take part in a rally demanding the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and an end to the war in the Gaza Strip. Photo: Mahmoud Illean/AP/dpa
Keystone
At a large demonstration in the Israeli coastal metropolis of Tel Aviv, thousands of people protested for a swift end to the war in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas. Numerous people gathered in "Hostages Square" in the center of the city and called on the government to agree to a ceasefire deal and the release of the hostages.
According to media reports, the security cabinet around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet again tomorrow, Sunday. However, a proposal for such an agreement that has already been approved by Hamas will not be discussed, reported TV station N12.
"Tonight, the people of Israel received further proof that the Netanyahu government prefers an endless war to hostages, going completely against the will of the people, even though there is a real possibility of bringing the hostages home," the Forum of Hostage Relatives announced. It called for another protest on Sunday.
Remembering hostages murdered a year ago
The demonstrators also remembered six hostages murdered a year ago in the hands of Hamas. At the time, the army had recovered the bodies of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat and Eden Yerushalmi in a tunnel not far from the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the military, they were brutally murdered by terrorists before the troops reached them. The incident caused consternation in Israel and around the world.
People in "Hostage Square" declared that the example of those murdered a year ago showed that military pressure endangers hostages. Some family members called on US President Donald Trump to act and do everything possible to free the hostages still being held in the Gaza Strip and end the war. They unfurled a large banner that read: "Trump, make history".
30.08.2025, 21:01
